Place: Reviews & Ratings

Reviews by bleeng:

I visited here about two weeks ago for the first time in a while. As usual it was very busy as there was a big convention in town. I sat at the bar as usual though.
Service overall was good as I got my beers and meal in good order. The waitress was very busy but was amenable to pouring samples if asked. The crawfish cakes were very good-I'm originally from Louisiana and was impressed-just wish that they were bigger though.
Beers: XXX-moderate bittering with little malt overtones. A good American Pale Ale.

They brew their own beer. Delivered a room temp beer. Asked if they had cold beer, was told no, they brew and keg their beer and keep it at room temp. Was told i could get a cold glass and that was it. Asked if i could buy a glass, they would not sell me a new one, only used ones that came from behind the bar. (311 characters)

I love this place. My Mother in Law lives just North of Little Rock and my Wife and I stop here on our way to visit every time we come through (we live in Texas). The beer is delicious, and still has that "home brew" flavor to it. There is a wide veriety of flavors of beer for the Stout Drinker to the Lager Drinker. The food (Italian Style) is very good and has a home cooed style to it. (389 characters)

Ok , my second visit to this location to try their beer again. I didnt enjoy it the first trip about 2 years ago so I thought what the hell I will try it again.

Ordered a 3oz sample of everything they had on tap , and I can honestly say that I didnt enjoy one of them. Same as last visit , each beer had the same aftertaste to me , I could tell the porter was a porter and the ale was an ale , but the end of every beer had the same aftetaste. I gave it a try and it just didnt happen

My wife had a mixed drink that wasnt bad ,it was 10 bucks and nothing special or large , so we will not be going back (606 characters)

Hitting the Arkansauce, post party for a wedding we didn’t attend months before 2 time zones from here. So this is the south. I think, no, I know I need to drink this away some, and Little Rock is surprisingly civilized, you know, things, places. Cool little strip of happening on the river, just a stupid shorty walk from the hotel...

On entering, you’re greeted by the bar, a long rectangular wood job of wiiide plank plank and a tile boxed foot rest. Seating for 2 dozen running ¾ of the way around, the rest lost to the service side of things. Box overhang tracing above the bar, windowed mostly with booze and glassware behind some meshing and house made GABF signage in between. TV’s along the inside so you can see them if you’re sitting barside. Brass U shaped bar towers of 8 affixed upside down from the underside of the overhang at each end (haven’t seen that one before), sporting shorty colored pilsner glass tap handles of different hues. And a single hand pump along the bar midway, dead today (Apparently, they only deal it on Fridays after 6:30, that which now isn’t). Splotchy beige walls and phat pillars. Green rounded top shutters to nowhere running the walls, with framed ribbons & awards, and brewery prints alternating in between. Wall mounted extension lamps over the wall hugging the seating, and baby spots over the bar. Wood slat floors, except around the bar where it’s all tiled up.

6 hightops adjacent to the bar (one of which we occupied) and another 5 shortys further down the wall across from the center pizza oven and hooked bar space seating just a few there. To the rear, a banquet room for 2 dozen. Around the other side seating side, 2 dozen booths (along the sides & rear) and tables (inside along the brewroom). And out back, a dozen and a half black metal mesh type tables, with views of the river between this bridge and that bridge.

There will be dinner. Started with the smoked duck spring rolls. Duck + scallions = love (simple math), with a spicy Szechwan chile sauce, and then the seared tuna salad with Soy mustard dressing & sesame ginger vinaigrette on the mesclun greens and bitty diced red peppers. It packed enough pickled ginger to annoy me having to shovel it into one corner with the wasabi gumballs, but it was excellent. Doled out the fresh pepper mill and all was well with the world. She had the side salad, which was good (although she wished there were more tomatoes), and then a veggie Boca burger of adequate predictability. Got shooken down an extra $1 for kickass garlic parmesan fries but they were well worth it.

Food was real damn good, and the beers weren’t too bad, actually, they were better than that, overall. Our server Holly is a young kid; peppy & happy. She did a pretty good job at describing the beer styles best she learnt, and was attentive but not overbearing. She may stay. The place is dead, but it is the day of some music fest below, after all (start early, end early). Suddenly, a mad rush of high schoolers dressed to the nines, dozens of them in tuxes and gowns (‘cause I’d want to spend prom night at a place I can be sure I‘m not getting served). Suddenly, I’m feeling a bit underdressed, but I’ve got beer, so I win. Chain brewpub a stone’s throw from a chain beer bar, such is the scene; Little Rock. (4,143 characters)

This is a great place to have a decent microbrew and great pizza. It's right down from the Flying Saucer so I usually grab dinner and a few brews here, then head down there. Boscos has several good microbrews, my favorite being the hefeweizen and the hook slide ale. If it's your first time there, order a sample of all of the beers and see what you like best.

The food is a little pricey, but the wood oven pizza's are hard to beat within the river market food scene. If the weather is decent, take your beer out to the back deck and enjoy the view of the river. (564 characters)

I liked this place alot. It's basically right across the street from the Flying Saucer, which is basically a beer-lover's paradise, but I set aside a special trip for this place too. Atmosphere was pretty generic. Nice set-up, tidy, family-friendly, nice big bar. They had an excellent selection of microbrews on tap, and quite a good variety of styles. The bartenders were pretty friendly and on the ball, but it should be noted that the manager was there when I visited. Nice selection on the food menu, and what I had was very tasty. Prices were mostly reasonable. Overall good place, and I'd like to go back. (612 characters)

I have been going to Bosco's in Little Rock off and on over the last five years. The food it good, a bit expensive for what you get. Their prices are batting a little (only) out of their league... but I do keep going back so it is not that bad.

They have 8 or 9 of their own beers. Their most well known and probably best is their Flaming Stone Beer. This last trip I had a Ray's Honey Rye seasonal. I was not too impressed with it; not bad but it did not taste like anything but watered-down mead. But in the past I have generally enjoyed all their beers. Plus they have good prices on their beers.

Their happy hour specials are decent too.

The server was mildly knowledgeable about the beer.

There are a couple other places in LR to hit for beer before this one, but a couple times a year is nice. (806 characters)

This is a nice brewpub chain that is in Little Rock. This place is very upscale. Right on the river, downtown. It just seems overly fancy to me. I felt under dressed, and out classed. Though it was very nice. A large and dark area with a rectangular bar.

I sat at the bar, and the service was good. The bartender seemed to know the beer, and was quick. Lots of stuff on the menu. I have to warn people that my view of the food is biased. The first time I visited I got real sick almost immediately after eating. I think the chicken I had was way under cooked. I can't stomach to eat here anymore. That was over two years ago, and I am sure there is nothing wrong with the food. Though I always associate their food with that experience. Most people around will recommend this place just for the food. They might be right, and I just had a really off night. I have been back a couple of times, just for the beer though.

The beer is good, nothing special. It is always enjoyable though. The quality is usually real good as well. There are about 8 taps with a cask. Lots of variety ranging from Pale Ales, Porters, Stouts, and Scotch Ales.

Overall, worth a visit. I do enjoy the beer. It just seems a little upitty sometimes, and I can't bring myself to eat here again. My advice is eat at Vino's, and have some of their beers. Then come here to drink at the bar. (1,365 characters)

Was in Little Rock while on vacation and basically stumbled on it for lunch. Location is excellent. On the river basically. Good views and a nice patio. Service was solid. Better than I expected. Server was attentive and staff was helpful. Food was average. I had a ruben and it was so so. Girfriend had an oriental salad and that was good. Boscos had a good wine list and that was a suprise. Only had the Isle of Sky Scottish ale and it was good. Only had one as we stopped for lunch and had to drive on to OKC. Negative was atmosphere. It was lunch and very dead. So not holding it against them at all and the whole marketplace was quiet. Beer list looked good and wished I could have had more. Worth doing. $41 for an app, 2 entrees and a wine and beer. Quite good. (778 characters)

Visited while in Little Rock on business. The location is great, right on the river with nice views. In AR, good beer is hard to come by, so I was happy to run into this place. "The Restaurant for Beer Lovers" title made me hopeful. I am continually seeking out great restaurants with great beer. Oddly, this is a hard combo to achieve. The place is big and has an old-timey vibe. It was not busy when I was there. I had several Flaming Stones which were good. I have no doubt that the other styles were ok. It was the food that was the problem. They have a somewhat fancy sounding menu, but the resulting dishes are just poor quality. The tuna tacos were gross. The pizza I has was barely passable and my colleagues pork chops were just ok. A brewpub with good food seems just too much to ask. The service was fine and prices were ok. I would come back for a beer for sure. (874 characters)

Nice little brewpub on the main drag in downtown Little Rock. Typical brewpub/restaurant atmosphere, nice place overall. Sat at the bar and received pretty good service. All of the bartenders had a good working knowledge of the beers. Service was good. They have about 8 beers on tap and a cask ale. I had the sampler, all of the beers were good, not great. They had their porter on cask. The porter was good, but the temperature was a bit too cold for cask. The food was pretty good. Overall it was a good experience and I would go back. (538 characters)

Stopped into today while in town for a couple of beers. My expectations are usually low for chain brewery/restaurants but Boscos easily exceeded them.

We sat out on the back patio overlooking the river. Nice view, but I may have been influenced by the beautiful day. Tried the sampler first, which included the Flaming Stone, Bombay IPA, Downtown Brown, Isle of Skye Scottish, Hookslide Ale, Hopgod Ale, Poor Richards's Ale, and Oatmeal Stout. Overall a pretty good selection. I found the Isle of Skye and the Hopegod to be exceptional.

The Isle of Skye was a nice mixture of maltiness with a hint of vanilla backed up by a hop bitterness. It was a red copper color and poured a good head, even in a sampler.

The Hopgod is advertised as having an IBU that is off the scale. It was a nice golden color and, although I wouldn't say it's the hoppiest beer I've ever had its definitely on the upper scale when compared to an IPA. A very exceptional beer that I found worth the second pint. (989 characters)

Boscos is one of our favorite places to drink beer in Little Rock. As others have pointed out, Boscos is located in the "River Market Area" of Little Rock. It's an area that caters to tourists and convention goers and is close to the Clinton Presidential Library and the riverfront.

Atmosphere - When you enter Boscos and see the dark wood & copper interior you'll realize that it tries to be a step above your average brewpub. While it's not as stuffy or pretentious as a white-tablecloth eatery, it does bill itself as "The Restaurant for Beer Lovers". Whether you are looking for a good meal or a quick beer, Boscos can fit the bill, but don't come expecting big screen TVs and loud music.

Service - Boscos does a good job of trying to match their service with their atmosphere. The staff is attentive and friendly and you'll find that all the bartenders and most of the servers are pretty knowledgeable of the beers. Keep in mind that Boscos is located in an area that serves a lot of tourists and convention traffic that you might find an unexpectedly crowded week night if there is a convention or concert in town.

Selection - Boscos will usually have eight beers on tap. Four of those beers (Downtown Brown, Isle of Skye Scottish, Bombay IPA, and their flagship Flaming Stone) are on tap all the time. The other four will be rotating seasonals. They try to keep a relatively light and dark beer in that mix. Boscos does a great job of rotating in a diverse selection of seasonals including various wheats and stouts and a spring beer known as Hop God. You won't find too many "extreme" beers or anything too exotic. Boscos is working to bring back cask-conditioned beer a few nights a week.

Food - As mentioned before, Boscos feels their food is as important as their beers. You'll find that it is more expensive than regular "pub grub". Expect to pay $10 for a thin-crust pizza or a hamburger and the prices go up from there. All of the food is very good. One of our knocks against Boscos, since it is one of our regular bars, is that you don't always want great food and the prices that go with it. Sometimes you just want some nachos or chicken wings to nibble on while you drink. Boscos does try to help you make the most of your experience with suggested beer and food pairing in the menu.

Value - Boscos is a little more expensive than your average brewpub, but you do get what you pay for. Check them out at Happy Hour for cheaper pints or join their Mug Club if you are going to be a regular. (2,516 characters)

We've been on a road trip from Florida to Oregon (relocating) and I'm trying to hit some beer spots along the way. This was the first one we were able to go to and I'm glad we did (despite the expensive parking situation in downtown Little Rock).

The service is really friendly and welcoming. Ambiance is kind of hipster-ish with low-key lighting and lots of dark wood.

They had eight beers on tap. The 4 flagships and 4 seasonals. I tried the Flaming Stone Beer, the Bombay IPA, and the Olde Ale (seasonal). All of them were pretty damn good. The Olde Ale went really well with there Tiramisu.

The food was great, though the portions were a bit small by American standards (read: probably the right amount for a person to eat) and, consequently, a bit pricey. For example, $9.50 for a smallish, thin pizza. And $4.50 for a 15 oz. "pint" of beer ($3.25 for a 10 oz.). We tried the Beijing pizza (Great!), the Calzone (damn good!), Caeser salad (good) and the Tiramisu (OK).

Definitely worth stopping in if you're in the area. And it's in a chic part of town, too. Just be prepared to part with a bit of cash. The relatively spartan meal my wife and I had was $44.00 (including tip) and that was without a starter, a shared salad, shared dessert, my wife not drinking, and me sticking with two half pints and a 3 oz. sample beer. (1,333 characters)

This was stop number 241 on my quest to visit all brewpubs in North America.

I've been to the other two Boscos and pretty much knew what to expect. This location is in the middle of the downtown entertainment district caddy corner to The Flying Saucer.

I stopped in for an IPA and the fish taco appetizer. The selection was a little light. They had no stout and the cask beer is only served on Friday nights when they tap it. I also hit Vino's and the Flying Saucer while in town. Boscos is the other end of the "nice" spectrum compared to Vinos. (550 characters)

This chain billed itself as "The restaurant for beer lovers." Well, I certainly fit THAT description! I had been to their Nashville location back in December 2006 and so I was looking forward to visiting this one in late-June/early-July 2007.

It was set along the Arkansas Riverwalk, an area of shops and restaurants overlooking the Arkansas River. I, however, was more interested in looking over their beer sampler. A long, wheelchair-accessible ramp led up to their front doors with a short vestibule. Entering, the huge, rectangular polished wood bar was directly in front of me, to the right of the maitre d' station (m.d.s.). The taps came down from above, like serpents hanging from the branches of a tree. Whoa! I gotta cut back on the hallucinogenics. Because of this vertical layout, the back bar consisted of shelving above the bar. Lots of high wooden chairs surrounded the bar and there were high tables and chairs along the extreme right wall. The restaurant area was to the left of the m.d.s. and was separated from the bar by a short wood and glass wall.

I was approaching ravenous insatiability as I went in and due to the relative lateness in the day, the dinner menu was available. At first, I was a bit skeptical since I was unsure that I wanted a full-on meal at 1600. That feeling quickly dissipated when I saw "Shrimp and Grits" on the menu. This was a case of old habits dying hard. When I was in the Navy, my breakfast routinely consisted of coffee, doughnuts, and a bowl of grits with a pat of butter and a sprinkle of pepper. Following my retirement in 1998, I swore that I was done with my old eating habits, but coffee and donuts are a big part of my morning routine during the school year and when I am in the South, I looove eating grits. My CouchSurfing host in Charlotte put me onto shrimp 'n' grits in December 2006 and for a simple meal, it is a proven winner in my book. It is also quite filling and I defy the fast eaters out there (WarriorSoul, I'm talkin' to you) to rush through even a standard serving. I had grits for breakfast that morning in New Orleans and now, grits for dinner. Uh oh.

Beer: Along with my meal, I had the eight-beer sampler platter. Is it going to surprise anyone that my pick was the Bosco's Bombay IPA? No? Well, a close second was their Famous Flaming Stone Beer. I would love to be present on a brew day when the super-heated stones are added to the process. FroggyFrog and I had been discussing this process at one point prior to my departure and Bosco's is one of the few breweries that I know of that does it. Honey Rye was the latest seasonal and I got a free pint since they tapped it while I was sitting there at the bar, hanging out, eating dinner. The brewhouse was visible through a series of windows to the left of the bar. (2,803 characters)

A very nice upscale brewpub/restaraunt with a decent bar to cozy up to.

The beers are abut split down the middle in terms of quality with their lighter beers lacking a bit and their more flavorful beers being fairly good. A nice range of styles with 8 different beers available. The hoppy beers (IPA and "D"IPA) were the best of the bunch with the Stout and the Strong Ale not far behind. The Cream Ale and APA were fairly weak and not quite as good as the same styles at Vino's. The Brown Ale and the Scottish Ale were just too buttery.

Service was good (but we were sitting right at the bar).

Ate at Vino's prior to the visit so can't comment on the food but the menu looked very nice and the food fairly eclectic. I will definitely eat here the next time I am in Little Rock. (800 characters)